Essay- I'm Watching

I just watched the most beautiful sunset.  I tried to put its glory into words, but all I ended up with was a jumble of pretty adjectives.

Let me just say that it looked like something Van Gogh would have painted... only better.  I just stood out in front of my house, starting up at the sky in complete wonder.

I had two thoughts.

The first was actually a simple observation. I wondered why I was the only one who stopped to watch this majesty unfold.  I looked around my neighborhood and saw lights on inside the cozy homes, ensuring me that I was not alone in the world, but still, I was alone under my neighborhood sky.

Then I thought about this sunset and what a gift it was to me.... to us.  Suddenly I was overwhelmed with gratitude and I thanked God for leading me to pause my business and mind long enough to appreciate what He was giving me.  I thought about all the times I miss seeing His glory pass by because I am too busy with my own life, just like my neighbors, happily and ignorantly moving on with life in my own cozy home....

I wonder how God feels when He paints me a picture in the sky that I am too distracted to see?  Does it make Him sad to see that I dismissed His unique present to me?  Does He feel the loneliness of having to appreciate His creation alone?  I likened it to a child who painstakingly picks flowers for his mother from the yard, only to have her leave them on the counter to shrivel and die unnoticed.  Such a pure act of love is surely worthy of attention.

As I watched the final hues of color begin their turn to a familiar blue/grey I smiled, and spoke my prayer out loud, "I'm watching."

I can't be sure, but I think He smiled, too.